S Spatburgunder
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2030
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, herb-crusted rack of lamb
✨ Technical Specifications
Crafted from select parcels in the historic border town of Schweigen-Rechtenbach, Weingut Bernhart's 'S' Spätburgunder is a masterclass in cool-climate Pinot Noir. The vines thrive in the unique 'Kalkmergel' (limestone marl) soils that straddle the boundary between Germany's Pfalz and France's Alsace—a geopolitical curiosity where grapes are harvested in France but vinified in Germany. The 'S' designation represents a premium selection of low-yielding, older vines. Following traditional fermentation, the wine is matured in French oak barriques, resulting in a complex, structured red. It beautifully marries the bright, red-berry acidity typical of German Spätburgunder with the deep, earthy minerality and velvety tannins inherited from its ancient limestone terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Weingut Bernhart is situated in Schweigen-Rechtenbach along the southernmost fringe of the Pfalz, right at the French frontier near the historic Deutsches Weintor. While the family's agricultural roots date back centuries, estate bottling commenced under Willi and Wilma Bernhart in 1971, followed by their accession to the VDP in 2004 and formal organic certification in 2012. Today led by Gerd and Sabine Bernhart, the estate commands a singular cross-border terroir: approximately two-thirds of its roughly 20 hectares of vineyards are technically situated on French soil in Alsace, governed by special bilateral treaties that allow the wines to bear German designations. The viticultural backbone rests on dense, fossil-rich limestone, calcareous marl, and clay deposits across benchmark cru plots such as the Schweigener Sonnenberg. Winemaking emphasizes spontaneous fermentation, lees contact, and judicious wood aging, generating deeply structured, mineral-driven white and red expressions epitomized by their Kalkmergel and Grosses Gewächs bottlings.
🍇 Grapes
Spätburgunder
🍷 ABV
13-13.5%